See Alice Waldhauer speak about FOR’s mission and role in the community as part of the ComFest Awards Ceremony at 3:20PM on Saturday, June 27th at ComFest in Goodale Park. The ceremony takes place at the Bozo Main Stage. FOR is a proud recipient of a ComFest grant, and is happy to speak to the ComFest crowd about ravine stewardship in Central Ohio.

With your support, we were successful in landing a coveted position in the Lucky’s Market Bags for Change Program. Under this program, local non-profit organizations are selected by a Facebook vote every three months for the chance of a generous donation by Lucky’s Market. At the Market checkout, customers that bring a re-usable grocery bag are presented with a wooden dime token that they can place into one of three bins near the store exit. Each dime token represents a ten-cent donation to the selected non-profit. The bins for each non-profit are in place for three months, and we are hoping that tokens will pile up fast. Lucky’s Market plans to sweeten the pot too, by matching the token donations at the end of the three month period – Sweet!

Last week, Facebook voting began and ended, and votes for Friends of the Ravines were initially slow to come. We asked for votes, and our supporters turned out in force. By the end of voting on Sunday, Friends of the Ravines brought in the most votes of the 5 selected groups. Thanks for liking us on Facebook, and we hope that Lucky’s customers will like us too!

On Saturday, June 20th, all active members of the FOR board met at the Battelle Darby Creek Nature Center to brainstorm ideas for the next few years. With the help of the incomparable Kim Stanz, the board developed new ideas for ravine stewardship, fundraising, and membership rewards. Keep an eye out for news about the following projects over the next few months:

New & Improved Membership Benefits

A Revised Website with Updated Content

Calls to Action for Ravine & Neighborhood Advocacy

Increased Fundraising Efforts – and Opportunities to Give

Volunteer Opportunities

Exciting New Community Partnerships

Compact & Accessible Stewardship Information

A Map of Central Ohio Ravines

In the meantime, “Like” us on Facebook or contact us at friendsoftheravines (at) gmail (dot) com to learn more. You can also pick up a current issue of Ravinia at the Whetstone Library, Lucky’s Market, Weiland’s Market, and other Central Ohio locations.